Chris Packham

Naturalist and broadcaster

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Book Recommendations:

CP

Recommended by Chris Packham

Book recommendation #4 ‘Get Your Boots On’ by @Appletonwild . This lovely , informative and inspiring book is a tremendous achievement by the young author . He’s a really good naturalist and his enthusiasm is infectious - a must read for all other keen young hearts @divedup https://t.co/PvHZVUxLYj (from X)

Get Your Boots On book cover

by Alex White, Chris Packham·You?

Young wildlife champion Alex White believes that a lifetime of caring for the environment can start close to home with fantastic experiences. Along with a host of well-known contributors, he reveals the simple and low-cost ways that people can enjoy nature. Together they share their passion, reveal what got them into wildlife in the first place and show how to get closer to it - now they want you to Get Your Boots On. The book also offers indispensable advice for those who would like to get more involved, or even build a career out of their passion for wildlife. Illustrated throughout by Alex's stunning photographs, this book will appeal to young and old alike. It suggests: when and where to get out there; what to go looking for; how to do it; what to take... and a host of other tips. Practical advice for getting closer to nature. Encouragement from those who have lived it.

CP

Recommended by Chris Packham

Book recommendation #2 ‘Europe’s Sea Mammals’ by @HughHarrop et al @PrincetonUPress . This is a great addition to this fabulous series - (Spiders is superb) Great maps , photos and text for ID for the 41 cetaceans and 9 seals and includes the @ORCA_web survey data https://t.co/3NVdcM4fOY (from X)

A state-of-the-art photographic identification guide to Europe’s whales, dolphins, porpoises and seals This cutting-edge photographic identification guide to Europe’s sea mammals―the only such guide of its kind―covers the 39 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises and 9 species of seals found in the region, which spans the eastern Atlantic from Iceland to Macaronesia, and the Mediterranean, Caspian and Baltic seas. Written and illustrated by a team of professional tour guides with extensive experience presenting the region’s sea mammals, the guide features more than 180 color photographs, maps and graphics, highlights key identification features and includes information on the range, ecology, behaviour and conservation status of each species. Produced with the marine conservation charity ORCA, the book presents mapping data from a decade of surveys, which shows both current distribution and changes over time. Europe’s Sea Mammals is an essential companion for whale watchers and anyone else who is interested in this enigmatic group of mammals. The only photographic guide dedicated to this popular whale-watching region Features more than 180 color photos, maps and graphics Highlights key identification features and provides essential information on the range, ecology, behaviour and conservation status of each species

CP

Recommended by Chris Packham

Book recommendation #1 ‘Rewilding’ edited by @WoodfallDavid . A series of interesting and reassuring essays about projects small and large which necessarily explains what this important conservation tool is really all about @HarperCollins https://t.co/ncX3DHJCeQ (from X)

A hopeful yet practical collection of essays exploring the many opportunities and benefits of rewilding and how to get involved today. Highly illustrated with nature photography tracing landscape change over thousands of years. Rewilding has become the key talking point in the modern conservation movement. But it’s commonly misunderstood as a campaign to fill the forests with lynxes, wolves and bears, when in fact the ethos guiding the British rewilding movement is much more nuanced, and much broader in scope. It’s also much more complicated, requiring an in-depth understanding of the complexity of regional ecosystems. Naturalist and photographer David Woodfall has spent years canvassing converts actually working in the countryside, meeting the people on the frontline of rewilding and collecting their stories. The result is a passionate chorus of voices from all facets of the movement. More than 50 contributors share stories of successful examples like the Knepp and Alladale estates, of unique species like the North Atlantic Salmon under threat, of the essential NGOs and trusts, of government agencies and policies, and so much more. Illustrated with Woodfall’s stunning nature photography, Rewilding offers at once an in-depth understanding of an essential movement and the people leading it; and of British ecosystems in all their terribly fragility and intricate beauty.

CP

Recommended by Chris Packham

A poignant, practical, and moving story of how to fix our broken land, this should be conservation’s salvation; this should be its future; this is a new hope. (from Amazon)

Wilding: Returning Nature to Our Farm book cover

by Isabella Tree, Eric Schlosser·You?

An inspiring story about what happens when 3,500 acres of land, farmed for centuries, is left to return to the wild, and about the wilder, richer future a natural landscape can bring. For years Charlie Burrell and his wife, Isabella Tree, farmed Knepp Castle Estate and struggled to turn a profit. By 2000, with the farm facing bankruptcy, they decided to try something radical. They would restore Knepp’s 3,500 acres to the wild. Using herds of free-roaming animals to mimic the actions of the megafauna of the past, they hoped to bring nature back to their depleted land. But what would the neighbors say, in the manicured countryside of modern England where a blade of grass out of place is considered an affront? In the face of considerable opposition the couple persisted with their experiment and soon witnessed an extraordinary change. New life flooded into Knepp, now a breeding hotspot for rare and threatened species like turtle doves, peregrine falcons, and purple emperor butterflies. The fabled English nightingale sings again. At a time of looming environmental disaster, Wilding is an inspiring story of a farm, a couple, and a community transformed. Isabella Tree’s wonderful book brings together science, natural history, a fair bit of drama, and—ultimately—hope.